| * Please indicate which of these Target Capabilities your request outlined in this application will satisfy. Check all that apply: | |
| Responder Safety and Health Firefighting Operations/Support Hazardous Materials Response Search and Rescue Communications |
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| * Please provide your narrative statement in the space provided below. Include in your narrative, details regarding (1) your project’s description and budget, (2) your organization’s financial need, (3) the benefit to be derived from the cost of your project, and (4) how the activities requested in your application will help your organization’s daily operations and how this grant will protect life and property. | |
| The XXXX Fire Department is a voluntary
department located in XXX, MN, approximately XX west of Minneapolis,
MN. PROJECT DESCRIPTION: --------------------- After a comprehensive risk assessment of our community structure and departmental needs through a review of incident frequencies, types and outcomes, along with open forums with individual firefighters, a serious problem became readily apparent. The XXXX Volunteer Fire Department lacks the necessary equipment to provide a basic emergency response services without seriously jeopardizing the safety of our firefighting personnel. We have determined that our only pumper truck does not meet MN Law 182.653 and NFPA 1901 compliance. This non-compliant truck is 29 years old, has a rusted steel tank, and a 350-gpm pump and must be taken out of service. The XXXX Fire department is requesting $167,511 in funding from the AFG program for the purchase of a new pumper truck. This four-door International truck will have a 1250-gpm pump with 1000-gallon tank. The cab has five seats, with four of them having self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) brackets in them. This truck will be fully equipped, including ladder, hoses, foaming capability, and all accessories, making it fully NFPA 1901 compliant. Although the need for the truck is of utmost importance, it was realized that the purchase of this truck could not be made by the city alone. After discussions between the XXXX Fire Department and the XXXX City Council, the city of XXXX has agreed to provide $15,332 towards the total cost of this new truck. These funds will be made available once the grant has been awarded. Total project costs - $191,659 Extra additional match - $15,332 Requesting funds - $176.327 Required 5% match - $8,816 Actual AFGP Contribution - $167,511 FINANCIAL NEEDS: ------------------ Our department is comprised of 12 volunteer firefighters and relies on funding from three townships as well as the city of XXX.(See city budget below.) In conjunction with the city of XXX, we are also able to do various fund raising projects throughout the year. These events all rely on the generosity of local residents. As with most rural areas, we are experiencing a declining population due to the migration of our younger generation to urban areas to find jobs, leaving the major percentage of our residents to be children under 18 and senior citizens. Our total annual funding is approximately $9000. As you can see by the following chart, our very tight budget runs about $4100 annually. This limited budget does not allow us to attempt a project of this magnitude on our own. This city recognizes this limitation and therefore has agreed to fund the additional $15,332 match. XXXXCity Budget General fund - $37,000 Sewer fund – $43,000 Garbage fund - $8533 Fire Dept fund - $3000 Insurance - $10,000 Reserves - $25,000 Total - $126,533 The fire department’s 2007 budget is broken into several categories, including: Fire hall - $1000 Equipment - $1530 Payroll - $1060 Other - $525 Total - $4115 While the above budget shows that we are not financially strong, we are determined to meet the needs of our primary response area by improving our fleet of vehicles. A grant such as this is the perfect match for a department such as ours. Our department has been able to accumulate a savings and a small reserve fund, but maintenance on our non-compliant trucks is slowly depleting these reserves. Financial ground is being lost each year as the cost of new, replacement equipment goes up faster than our budget. Throwing money at these non-compliant trucks is not financially sound, nor does it promote the security we strive to provide the citizens in our response area. COST / BENEFIT: ---------------- XXX's only pumper is 29-years-old and has numerous problems. The current pump is non-compliant, as it pumps 350 gpm and is only capable of running 2x2.5 lines. The water tank is made of steel and is severely rusting, causing the seals in the pump to wear out repeatedly and allow rust particles into the water supply. When our truck is unable to respond it negatively affects our ability to provide mission critical services for our department as well as those that we provide mutual aid to. This poses a problem not only for the XXXX Fire Department, but also for the trucks of the eight other fire departments to which we supply water. Our current truck is only capable of carrying 2 SCBA on board, resulting in lost response time as we wait for other firefighters with SCBA's to arrive. It is impossible for our current pumper to solely respond to structure fires in our jurisdiction. The response area for the XXXX Fire Department consists of the following: Burlington Northern Railroad’s main line running through town, a 750,000-gallon bulk storage oil warehouse, 102,000-gallon of stored anhydrous ammonia, a chemical and fertilizer warehouse, two major gas lines, a 40-million gallon ethanol plant that has approved construction to double its current capacity. Fibromin, the only biomass burning facility in the United States, has also started burning a projected 2500 tons of liter daily. Any of these facilities would be no match for our current pumper. The problems with our department’s first line pumper indicate a huge gap between what we need for effective firefighting and the vehicle that we currently have. Extensive repairs are continuously being done to our current truck, yet it still remains far from being in compliance. The city of XXXX recognizes the importance of this project and the long-term investment it is, and thus has agreed to contribute $15,332 beyond its usual budgetary allowance for the fire department. Even though our call volume appears to be low this past year, we are in dire need of solving our gap in our ability to provide safe, reliable equipment for our firefighters and to fulfill our mission of providing critical services to our community. Of course, we may not always be fortunate enough to have such a low call volume. We must be fully prepared no matter how many times we are dispatched. Every response is significant. Furthermore, volume is not necessarily indicative of a fire's severity. We, for example, have responded to two mutual aid calls within the past year to the ethanol plant near our response area. Thus, not only will this new equipment allow us to provide the quality and complete service our citizens expect, it will also enable us to serve the surrounding communities more safely and effectively. By receiving a grant for this pumper truck, we can remove some of the problems which are negatively affecting our ability to provide mission critical services to the 475 square miles that we, and the eight other departments for which we provide mutual aid, serve. As you can see, there is a tremendous amount of hazardous material that is stored and transported within our service area. Failing to replace our pumper/truck will result in an increase in our inefficiency, as we will have more out-of-service time while repairs are taking place. This significantly jeopardizes the safety of the people in our response area and is clearly unacceptable. No fire department should ever be closed for business. The XXXX Fire Department intends to fully train all personnel how to operate completely and safely the new truck in 2007 and in the years to come. We will also be able to participate more fully in the drills with the larger neighboring departments. Providing greater resources for the departments that we supply mutual aid to as well Equally as important as quality equipment are qualified firefighters who have the ability to utilize the equipment that is essential to providing the best service possible. We are committed to giving our volunteer firefighters the resources they need to be successful and safe. Statement of effect: ------------------- Purchasing this front line pumper/tanker means we can solve our interoperability by increasing resources necessary to protect the health and safety of our firefighters and the general public within our response area. The eight neighboring fire departments, composed of 165 firefighters, will be fully supported when we are called upon for mutual aid. The first quarter of 2007 has already shown a 200% increase in structure fires. Having a NFPA compliant pumper would lessen the severity of these losses as well as decreasing the exposure time for firefighters. Within our primary response area 33% of our residence are either under the age of 14 or are seniors 65 years of age or older. It is the XXXX Fire Department’s goal to protect these vulnerable groups from hazards. Thus with this purchase of a new pumper, we will be able to provide excellent firefighting capabilities. If awarded this grant, the XXXX fire department will complete this project within the one-year period of performance that is expected. We will also be tracking the impact of this grant as we measure the positive impact that is has had on the community we serve. We appreciate your support and would like to express our gratitude for the opportunity this grant program provides to our fire department and the people we serve. Thank you for your consideration of this grant proposal. XXXX Volunteer Fire Department |
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